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Posted: Tues February 10, 1998 at 10:19 a.m EST Kazakhstan 4, Slovakia 3 ------------------------Alexander Koreshkov scored with 81 seconds left in regulation to snap a tie and lift Kazakhstan to a 4-3 victory over favored Slovakia and a berth in the championship round of the men's Olympic tournament. Kazakhstan (2-0-1), which advanced to the championship round along with Belarus , defeated Italy on Saturday and tied Austria on Sunday before the win over Slovakia . Kazakhstan faces Russia on Friday, the Czech Republic on Sunday and Finland next Monday. Belarus played to a 2-2 tie with Japan and will be in Group D with the United States , Cananda and Sweden . Slovakia held a 2-1 lead after two periods, but Mikhail Borodulin tied the score with his third goal of the tournament 2:55 into the third period. Konstantin Shafranov, who plays for Fort Wayne of the International Hockey League, gave Kazakhstan a 3-2 lead at 7:04 with his second goal of the tournament. But Slovakia 's Peter Bondra, who was added to the team after playing for the Washington Capitals on Saturday, forged a 3-3 tie with his first goal, a power-play tally with 7:44 remaining. Defenseman Robert Svehla, also added to the team after playing for the Florida Panthers Saturday, assisted on the goal. Koreshkov scored the game-winner, his second goal of the tournament, off a feed from Igor Zemlyanov at 18:39 and goaltender Vitali Yeremeyev held Slovakia scoreless in the final minute to finish with 29 saves. Koreshkov has two goals and four assists in the first three games of the tournament. Vlastimil Plavcha and Branislav Janos also scored and Igor Murin stopped 21 shots for Slovakia , which had only two roster spots available for the game and was unable to dress NHL stars Zigmund Palffy of the New York Islanders and Jozef Stumpel of the Los Angeles Kings.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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